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Chapter Eighteen
Zane had one destination in mind as he left Cammie in the infirmary, the captain’s office, but first he wanted confirmation from Cal Underwood himself that his brother wasn’t under suspicion.
“Tell me you’ve figured out where my money is.” Cal started every conversation without preamble and Zane liked that about him. Straight to the point. No unnecessary chitchat.
“Not before you tell me if I can trust your brother.” Zane took two steps at a time to get to the atrium where reception was much better for an overseas call.
“My brother was the one who raised the alarm. You can trust him.” Cal sounded amused, like Zane had passed some kind of test.
That pissed Zane off.
“My girlfri—my good friend has been hurt as a result of being tangled up in this. It would have been good to know that your brother was the captain and that I could count on him as an ally.”
“And how did your good friend get tangled up in your case, Mr. Roberts, if you didn’t invite her in?” Cal cleared his throat. “Don’t think I haven’t been appraised of your progress. From my viewpoint, I’d say Miss Sheppard knew what she was getting herself into when she joined forces with you.”
Zane bristled but couldn’t deny what Cal was saying. It had been Zane who’d agreed to let Cammie into his world. Sure, she’d been insistent, and yes, she had reason to want to investigate after finding a dead man on the floor of her cabin, but ultimately, Zane could have said no. He could have set aside his personal interest in Cammie and kept her out of the loop.
“I’ll take your silence as agreement. I am sorry that Miss Sheppard was hurt. I have been told that she’s fine now and recovering in her cabin. I have a great deal of respect for her employer, Sabine Cowan, and wouldn’t want anything to happen to someone Sabine values.”
Zane took those words to mean that Cal was intimidated by Sabine Cowan and wouldn’t want to piss her off. “I need to drop the undercover shit and hit this straight on, and I need Captain Evans to back me.”
“Do you have a lead that connects to the case I hired you to investigate or are you seeking retribution for your girlfriend?”
“They’re one in the same,” Zane growled. He wanted to start with Jasper and Bill first, because his gut was telling him that the truth lay nestled in those two, even if they weren’t directly responsible for what had happened to Cammie.
Cal let the silence hang for a long minute. “The captain is expecting you.” Then he hung up.
To be honest, Zane would have gone to the captain anyway, even without Cal’s blessing, but this made things easier.
“You look like a man on a mission.” Elm Stone was lounging in a chair on the Sky Deck as Zane beelined through. “How’s Cammie? Doing okay, I hope.”
“She’s resting.” Zane shielded his eyes from the sun so he could see Elm, who was glistening with some kind of tanning oil. It was not a good look. “Do you know where I can find Bill and Jasper?”
“Yes, sir, they’re speaking with Chief Ross.” Elm grabbed his shirt from the arm of his chair. “In fact, I’m headed to the Security Deck myself. I assume you are too. We can’t have young ladies getting drugged, no sir.”
Zane frowned. He needed to speak with the security chief as well, and now that Cal was on board with Zane’s plan, he assumed the captain would be appraised by his brother, which would clear the way for Zane to fill Ross in now instead of later. Plus, he wanted to hear whatever Jasper and Bill had to say. The captain would have to wait.
Elm slipped his shirt over his arms but didn’t bother to button it up. “Lead the way, Mr. Zane. I’m right behind you. You been doing this long, Mr. Zane?” Elm was in front now that they were on the elevator, his back to Zane so he couldn’t see his face.
“What’s that?” Not for the first time, Zane wished he had a weapon with him. The hair on the back of his neck had been at attention with each step he’d taken toward the security meeting.
“Oh, come now,” Elm said with a snort as he looked over his shoulder. “Investigative work.”
Zane revved up, ready to play the game all over again when he remembered that he didn’t need to keep his identity a secret anymore. “A year, give or take.”
Elm cocked an eyebrow over his shoulder. “Not long then.”
“Solid track record,” Zane countered. Which was not really the truth. He had no idea why Cal had hired him out of so many more experienced investigators available.
“Not much of a game face, though.” Elm’s grin should have been disarming, but for the first time since he’d met the man, Zane saw it in a different way.
“Excuse me?” Zane crossed his arms and widened his stance.
“You came barreling out to the Sky Deck, ready to bust some skulls.” He tapped his head. “I knew before you asked where Bill and Jasper were that you’d be stirring up some trouble for me. You and your sweetheart, Cammie, just kept showing up wherever Bill was, and I couldn’t make sense of it. Then you started asking questions you shouldn’t have been asking and I knew that you suspected Haversmith of something. Taking him down would mean taking me down, and I can’t have that, no sir.”
Everything clicked into place in that moment. “You’re the one siphoning money, aren’t you?” Elm was a board member of Bill’s company. He had a vested interest in making sure Bill didn’t make bad business decisions. He’d traveled with Bill on the first cruise and this one only…why? Because he’d set something up on the first cruise and now Bill was threatening to shut it down with his change in heart about the cruise line takeover? Or something else?
Elm hit the red button and the elevator slowed to a stop. “Siphoning isn’t exactly right.”
